Decades into her show business career, Elizabeth Hurley finds the roles she’s getting these days to be more exciting than ever. She’s gearing up for the release of Christmas in Paradise, the sequel to last year’s holiday hit Father Christmas Is Back. In recent years, she has also played other interesting parts from playing a witchy villain Morgan le Fay in Hulu’s Marvel series Runaways to a starring role in the South African adventure movie Phoenix Wilder and the Great Elephant Adventure.

It’s all a stark contrast to what Hurley thought things would be like at this point in her career. In a new interview with MovieWeb’s Greg Archer, Hurley addressed how she accepts her roles in modern projects. She says she’s really just happy to be getting offers for the exciting roles that come her way, admitting that she’s not quite sure how much of that is luck, but noting that she’s been working very hard to avoid falling into a trap of only getting cast in “dull parent” roles. From the interview:

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“There is a huge amount of change on so many levels—the streamers, less cinema. But what I’ve noticed, and which I have to say is actually of immense benefit to myself, is that… you know, when I was much younger, you always fear that maybe parts are going to dry up, you’re going to have less to do, you’re only going to play really dull parent roles. And whether it’s part of the new movement that’s going on, or whether it’s a coincidence, or whether I’ve just been very fortunate, I feel that I’m being offered better and better parts as I get older, which is not what I expected, and not necessarily what other people talk about all the time. So, I am aware that maybe I’ve just hit a little lucky streak. But for the past few years, I’ve been working nonstop, and not playing very dark, middle-aged parts.”

Elizabeth Hurley Has Been Decking the Halls

     Lionsgate

Hurley’s latest movie sees her reprising her role from Father Christmas Is Back for the new holiday movie Christmas in Paradise, reuniting with Kelsey Grammer. Meanwhile, she’s also appearing in the new holiday movie Christmas in the Caribbean, a film that puts her in a romance storyline rather than playing someone’s “dull parent” in the background.

Hurley also told us in her interview that she’s currently working on a new exciting project, a movie called Strictly Confidential. Directed by her son, the film will start shooting in the next few weeks, and Hurley is producing in addition to starring in one of the main roles. She noted that it’s “hard work out here doing this yet rewarding at the same time.”

Christmas in Paradise is now available on Digital, On Demand, and on Blu-ray & DVD. Hurley can next be seen in Christmas in the Caribbean when it is released in theaters and On Demand on Dec. 2, 2022.